The Korea Herald

Seoul slams ‘biased’ foreign reports on Korea

Aug 12, 2011

South Korea’s top financial regulator on Friday slammed “biased” analyst reports on the country by foreign brokerages and asked them to “properly” inform the market of the economy’s resilience.“A few foreign securities companies have released reports that made arbitrary judgments about the Korean ec
Seoul shares drop 1.33% on foreign selling

Aug 12, 2011

South Korean stocks closed 1.33 percent lower Friday on continued foreign selling as rosy U.S. jobs data failed to boost weak investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slumped 24.13 points to 1,
No further monetary tightening by S. Korea expected this year: Moody's

Aug 12, 2011

South Korea is expected to hold off on further monetary tightening for some time, probably for the rest of this year, amid growing confidence of bringing inflation under control, Moody's Analytics said Thursday."Monetary tightening has likely ended for this year," said Alaistair Chan, an economist a
Gunman opens fire in Estonian ministry

Aug 11, 2011

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A gunman opened fire inside Estonia's Defense Ministry and tried to take hostages on Thursday, but he apparently was shot and killed by police who stormed the building, an official said.The attacker entered the ministry in downtown Tallinn at midday, threw a smoke bomb,
U.S. stocks rise on small but positive economic signs

Aug 11, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street's wildest week since 2008 continued with another 300-point move for the Dow on Thursday. This time, stocks shot up after investors saw small signs that the economy isn't headed into another recession.Fewer Americans joined the unemployment line last week and a techn
US stock futures fall again after another big drop

Aug 11, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock futures fell Thursday, following European markets lower and a day after another big drop on Wall Street.Worries have focused on the health of European banks, particularly those in France, this week. France's central bank said Thursday that the country's banks are solid an
Stocks strengthen for second day

Aug 11, 2011

The nation’s stock market saw gains for the second consecutive day amid emerging investor sentiment that the Korean economy is not critically exposed to external woes.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed by 11.2 points from a day before to close at 1,817.44 though the index plunged during t
Lee stresses importance of foreign press briefings

Aug 11, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak has instructed the Finance Ministry to notify foreign investors of Korean financial markets’ capability to weather the European debt crisis, government officials said Thursday.Lee called for officials to carry out the mission by holding press conferences for foreign media dur
Is Korea’s ‘open’ market a curse?

Aug 11, 2011

Officials concerned about greater volatility from structural problemsOpenness in financial markets is supposedly a positive thing. But this rule does not exactly apply to Korea’s “open” stock market that has been fluctuating in a way deemed more volatile than that of its peers in Asia and elsewhere.
Kookmin Bank investing heavily in stocks: sources

Aug 11, 2011

South Korea’s top lender Kookmin Bank has invested a large amount of money in stocks in an apparent bid to seize on the recent market tumble, industry sources said Thursday.Kookmin Bank, the flagship of No. 1 bank holding firm KB Financial Group Inc., entrusted its affiliate KB Asset Management with
Seoul concerned by fresh capital inflow from U.S.

Aug 11, 2011

The government said it is worried about cheap credit in the U.S. destabilizing the local economy as large funds into the region could worsen inflationary pressure. “The U.S. Federal Reserve’s pledge to maintain zero interest rate policy in the medium term could destabilize other economies even if th
Asian stocks lower after Wall Street tumbles

Aug 11, 2011

BANGKOK (AP) -- Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower Thursday as concerns mounted over the worsening debt crisis in Europe and a slackening global economy.Oil prices hovered below $83 a barrel, while the dollar slipped against the yen and the euro. Markets continued to wobble am
U.S. stock futures advance after profit reports beat estimates

Aug 11, 2011

U.S. equity-index futures gained, signaling stocks may rebound from near the lowest levels in about a year, after companies from Cisco Systems Inc. to News Corp. reported better-than-estimated earnings.Cisco, the world’s largest maker of networking equipment, exceeded analyst’s profit estimates afte
BOK freezes key rate despite inflation risks

Aug 11, 2011

Central bank projects headwinds from debt woes in U.S. and Europe South Korea’s central bank on Thursday kept the key interest rate steady at 3.25 percent for the second month in a row, as global financial market turmoil sparked by the U.S. credit rating downgrade and Europe’s debt woes outweig
Stocks tank on European bank, US economy fears

Aug 11, 2011

Trader Peter Tuchman works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday. (AP-Yonhap News)LONDON (AP) -- Concerns over the financial health of Europe's banks and the state of the U.S. economy sent stocks sharply lower Wednesday, a day after the Federal Reserve's pledge to keep extremely low